The First Blight
by Titan Transcendence
Summary: It's a time of creeping darkness, where unnumbered and unnamed heroes faught and died, where the empires of Man and Dwarf crumbled. There are no Wardens and an Old God has risen in Vengance and hate, bringing with it the Darkspawn, the First Blight.


_AN: I've had this idea, and a few others, about the First Blight bouncing around in my head for a few months now so I though I'd get it out there before it makes my attempts at the Vallen story an exercise in futility. Its intended to be a series of one-shots, but this first story, The Magister Lords, is growing a bit and might take up 3 chapters. Either way, the point is for a series of one shot stories showing what I think the creation of the Darkspawn, the First Blight, the founding of the Wardens and the end of the Blight might have been like. Plus, since we have very little information on what ancient Tevinter and the Dwarven empire where actually like, its fun to have almost free reign without going AU._

_Rated M for future content._

_As ever, BioWare owns the lore, but the tale is mine._

* * *

**The Magister Lords**

Minrathous, 798 TE (-397 Ancient)

Tiberion Neros rode down the centre of Magisters Avenue astride his great black destrier, having returned from ten long years of war as a commanding Magister for the Empire. He had led his warriors against slave revolts and the armed resistance of Rivain's military whilst making more gains against the Avvar, Alamarri and Ciraine barbarian tribes of the south and overseeing the completion of the fortress, Ostagar. In effect, the same thing every other young Magister does when Archon Valarian sends them off to war, which explained the less than impressive turn out for the nobles return.

With his gilt black armour, sharp featured tan face and long black hair he was a handsome young man in his late twenties, but a closer look showed too many lines on his face and dark patches below his eyes indicated too many sleepless nights. He was glad for the poor turn out on his return to the capital of the Empire (some other Magisters would say the world with the Tevinters long reach as extended as it now was) as it allowed him to make a quick ride through the city to his families villa, whilst the guard captain lead the troupes back to the city barracks where most would be stood down for the time being.

As he turned into the North West district of Minrathous where the nobles kept their city estates he was met by another Magister a few years older than himself, with a medium height and build, dark brown eyes and blond hair streaked from years in the sun. "Tiberion! The proud conqueror returns at last I see."

"Maxantus, well met." He replied in a slightly cool manner, for he had never been particularly fond of the man given his overly facetious manner, something which seems to have remained intact, though as their families were allied it wouldn't do to alienate him.

"Forgive me if I am wrong, but shouldn't you have returned some five years ago?" Maxantus asked as he brought his own bay palfrey alongside and rode with Tiberion.

"I was, however the Archon asked for me to go south and oversee the completion of our fortress at Ostagar."

"Ostagar? Wasn't that completed years ago?" Maxantus said with a perplexed frown.

"No, the Tower of Ishal, that holds the Magister laboratory, has stood for a long while, but the Chasind barbarians of the Korcari Wilds attack it regularly, the new fortress will hopefully put a stop to that." Tiberion replied.

"That still doesn't explain why you're five years late." The newcomer continued to push as they slowly moved along the wide, white marble villa lined streets, under the shade of olive trees.

With a sigh Tiberion continued "I do not like to talk badly of fellow Magisters, but my predecessor was incompetent in the extreme. Constant attacks had delayed the construction by well over a year before I got there and the worst insult, he allowed a small group of barbarians to circumvent his guards, dowse the construction scaffolding beams in oil and then set them alight whilst he and most of his forces dealt with a diversionary sortie on the other side of the encampment. Half the structure collapsed, either from the fire or from falling debris. I suspect Wilder magic had been in use to weaken points of the structure as well, but I arrived two weeks after the disaster so I had no way to find out. The bastard pulled his enterourage and left almost as soon as I arrived, leaving me to clear up the mess.

"I was supposed to preside over Ostagar's opening and return after a few months, but had to oversee most of its construction for four years instead whilst leading sorties into the misty marshes against enemies that could seemingly disappear at will. An entire repertoire of combat magic and it was largely irrelevant against a foe I couldn't see."

Tiberion stopped his monologue and stared ahead, hoping his face appeared expressionless. He hadn't meant to divulge so much information but the frustrations of those lost years in the Korcari Wilds still rankled deeply with him. He was eighteen when he had become a fully fledged Magister and, as per Tevinter law, was pressed into military service for the Archon. Most only spent five years in the field and returned to take up honourable positions, either for their own noble family or, in the case of commoners, in service to another noble family or even the Council of Magister Lords. Now at twenty eight he was approaching middle age and, as the fourth oldest son of the powerful Neros family, he had few prospects outside of politics, and not the really important kind his oldest brother would be apart of. Finding a respectable wife at his age might prove difficult as well given that it was nearing a scandal for a noble man to be unwed at the age of thirty, and his currently low social status wouldn't help with that.

His contemplations suddenly stopped when he realised they were fast approaching the entrance to the Neros villa, and so he turned to his companion. "We seem to have reached my home, and so I must take my leave. It has been a long ride through the Silent Desert and along the Highway so I am not particularly fit for company at this time. I expect some sort of banquet will be put on to announce my return to Minrathous so I shall likely see you soon, and thank you for the welcome back."

"I look forward to our meeting again, Tiberion." Maxantus said, shaking Tiberions hand before turning and riding on down towards his own families villa.

Tiberion hadn't actually cared whether he had been greeted or not, but it wouldn't do to let his indifference show, so he just shrugged and led his entourage through the gates and into the compound.

* * *

Lord Kratic's mind returned to his body after it had spent an extended time roving the Fade, as did the minds of the six other Lords around him. In his mid sixties, Kratic was a tall, wiry, imposing man with knife sharp features, slate blue eyes that still contained the fierce spark of intelligence and ambition that had marked his youth and a crown of short grey hair. It was often said that he was the second most powerful man in the Imperium, second only to Archon Valarian, despite the modesty of his family. It was also said that both of those points were likely to change with his elevation to Archon and the subsequent rise of the Sonises family, though usually quietly and away from anyone that could possibly be linked to the current Archon in any way.

"Gentlemen" he said in his deep, resonant voice to his fellow Lords assembled around the table, complete with lyrium bowl, in his study "we are getting closer. With the knowledge we have gained this night we are finding the pieces of the puzzle to access the great repository of information stored within the Golden City."

They had all known this, but for the best amongst them to speak the words aloud merely served to solidify their confidence in the work they had performed and the resolve to continue. They all knew the risks of failure, maybe even of success, and certainly knew what would happen if they were discovered before it was time. But they had all spent years debating in hushed voices the possible ramifications of their actions and so none said anything, because there was nothing more to be said. They all knew what they stood to gain from this and what work still needed to be done, so one by one they took their leave and left Lord Kratic to his own contemplations.

* * *

Tiberion lay sprawled on the lounger whilst the more highly ranked members of various noble families discussed a multitude of subjects from war to politics to merchantry, each proclaiming with varying degrees of detail how they would prove far better than their opponents at running the various aspects of Tevinter life whilst surrounded by the opulence that only the richest of families could supply. Furnishings of the highest quality, exotic foods prepared by the best chefs (carefully adapted to suit Tevinter pallets), fresh fruits, even the slaves were finally dressed, at least for slaves. It was incessantly dull and he did his best to stay out of such conversation as yawning at the person you are conversing with could easily lead to a spell duel, though at least that might hold some interest.

It had been two days since he had returned to the capitol and Tiberion had spent most of the time resting and trying to make up his mind on what he wanted to do now that he was out of the Army and required a position of authority to maintain his status as a Magister. It was an important decision to make but he found it both annoying and frustrating that, as the fourth son of the Neros family, he seemed to have few choices open to him that would allow him to make a name in his own right and step out from whatever long shadows the other prominent members of his family cast over him.

First their was his oldest brother Gaius who, with their father's failing health, would soon be one of the Magister Lords and be directly involved in the governing of the empire. Then there was his next eldest brother Tyron, who had never left the military and had risen to be one of its most prominent, and competent, generals. Aulun was only a few years older than Tiberion but in the seven years that he had been out of the military, he had carved out a formidable reputation as one of the most capable politicians in Minrathous by virtue of his gift for mind magic's, a subtle touch that aloud him to make exceptional use of it with the recipient rarely recognising the attempt, let alone success, of the manipulation and most importantly, an intelligence that guided when best not to use such magical ability as when to do so.

Tiberion had distinguished himself in the military leading ten whole companies of soldiers, though admittedly six of which were slave companies, but in Tevinter society a Magister's "first career" was always viewed as a stepping stone, a time to build the foundations ones life would be built on and the strength of the reputation cultivated during this time meant little upon the return home. And so, with his brothers given five extra years to solidify their positions in Tevinter society, he knew that though he could mark himself out as a capable Magister General or politician, he would forever be in the shadows of his brothers if he followed in the footsteps of any of them. Admittedly, he could still forge a considerable reputation under such circumstances, but the idea that he would always be know as "the younger brother of..." just didn't seem to sit right with him, like an uncomfortable weight on his shoulders.

This would appear to leave him with two options, to effectively become the Neros families merchant controller (no family that set one of their sons or daughters to do this would admit they had a simple merchant in the family, though in effect this is exactly the case), or to join the Magi Forum, a centre of learning where the knowledge of the fade, magic and anything related to them was explored and expanded with an almost religious zeal, ostensibly for the good of the empire, but in practice only after the Magister's family had made some gain from it.

Thinking about this only left Tiberion with one real choice, he had no interest in being a merchant and his marketing acumen was none existent, which left the clear cut option of joining the Magi Forum. Except, he hated the idea that he was being backed into a corner with no alternative choice. He had proved a quick and capable learner of magic's from a young age, and there was good reason to suggest he would be able to adapt that aptitude toward research, but it just kept coming back to the feeling that he was left with no choice in the matter unless he wanted to become a subordinate to his brothers the rest of his life or a laughing stock as he ruined the family coffers. Even when ambushed by the Chasind in the Korcari Wilds, his decisive and in some cases unorthodox decisions created a series of choices before him when his opponents thought they had left him with none. This feeling of being herded was known and he didn't like it. Of course, he could just give up being a Magister and look for another way to make his living, but the likely consequence of such action would be disinheritance and becoming a social pariah, at least to the nobility. After all, who in their right mind would give up such a position of power?

He suspected he was being selfish, putting his desires ahead of the needs of the family, or just childish, but it left him off balance and he realised that for the first time in his life, he had no clear direction to work in, no pre-determined goals to aim for and the result was that he couldn't make any decisions at all! Right then and there, he decided that the situation couldn't last and that he would have to make a decision on what he would do, what he would become. He just hoped he'd make the right one. Just then he also realised that he had been completely inattentive of the guests, lost in his own reverie, and that someone had spoken to him.

"Tiberion, lad, I said what do you intend to do now that you've returned from the barbaric south?" huffed an older man, who's once muscular body was clearly going to seed, by the name of Magister Livius.

"I have yet to come to a decision Livius, I wish to carefully consider my choices so that I can best serve the family in the future." Tiberion replied, noticing the slight frown on his mothers face for his inattentiveness and the bland answer. It was an evasive reply and they all knew it. The conversation quickly moved on, much to Tiberion's relief, when it became apparent that he wasn't going to elaborate.

* * *

A few hours later, with stars out and the villa well lit with enchanted lanterns, Tiberion found himself sitting outside alone listening to an elf play the kithara beautifully. Certainly there were some things that the knife-ears were better at than humans, and playing such multi stringed instruments was one of them. The floating melodies and overlaying harmonies left him feeling relaxed, more so than he had been for longer than he could remember. Never having previously been a great lover of music, he was surprised to realise that he had probably spent quite a long time out here in the enclosed courtyard listening to the musician play.

He was leaning back against a column, letting the music wash over him when he suddenly felt that he wasn't alone out in the courtyard any more. Opening his eyes he saw a woman of great beauty sitting opposite him with long hair the colour of burnished copper, tied back and pinned up elegantly, staring at him with large, piercing, wide set green eyes with a friendly, if a little reserved, smile. She was of medium stature and unadorned of the gaudy jewellery that was high fashion amongst many of the nobles at the moment, but her blood red robes were neat and tailored from fine silk. More importantly, her hands and forearms were covered in the small scars that indicated a blood mage, the same way his were, and she wore the ring of office that identified her as a Magister, though she lacked anything to mark out what rank or branch.

They stared at each other for a short time, all the while the woman's green eyes sparking a feeling of recognition in Tiberion, before the newcomer spoke to him. "Hello Tiberion, it's been a long time since we last saw each other."

Tiberion screwed up his brow in confusion at that, he couldn't place having ever seen this woman before. Then, old memories of his childhood spent in this very courtyard, and of his time in training to become a Magister came to him. "I don't believe it, Lucia?"

"Ahhh, you do remember me, I was beginning to worry you had already forgotten after only a few years."

"A few? I've been gone a decade! You've certainly grown up some since I last saw you, and you look great." Tiberion answered, sitting up to look closer at Lucia, and her ring, an old friend of his from his childhood, with a smile widely set upon his face, the first genuine smile he had shown since his return to Minrathous.

"Yes, you could say I've filled out from that skinny girl you used to know."

"You also seem to have surpassed me, the green colouring of your ring tells me you've been given responsibilities and influence."

"I have. Since my own military service ended six years ago I've been working at the Forum, and now head up a research circle. Its actually one of two reasons I've come here today. I know you're going to be short on options for where your life goes now that your own service is at an end, so I have a proposition for you. I'm well aware of just how good a mage you are, so I'm offering you a place on my research team. It's not much, the position and the research it requires wont give you any political power or increased social status but it is a starting place, somewhere for you to begin building up to whoever it is you want to become."

Tiberion wasn't smiling anymore, but he did have a thoughtful look whilst he stared off at the fountain in the centre of the courtyard. Shortly, he turned back to Lucia "I don't know. Right now, between you and me, I'm not sure of what I want to do with my life. I'll have to think on this. It's the first time in my life that I've had the opportunity to influence its direction and I don't want to get it wrong. Can you at least tell me what kind of research you conduct?"

"I'm sorry, you know how politics works, and I can't divulge that kind of information until you've agreed to join my team. I'm afraid I also don't have the liberty of waiting too long for your answer before I'll be forced to look elsewhere, the best I can offer you is a week."

Tiberion turned back to stare at the fountain, his mind already beginning to fall into contemplation, though retained enough prescience of mind to answer Lucia "Yes, I know how politics works and I can understand the time constraint, but thank you for the offer, I will consider it."

Lucia gave a slow nod then stood up and began to move away and back into the villa when Tiberion, turned back and asked her "What was the other thing, the other reason you came here for tonight?" he elaborated, noticing the questioning look to his initial query.

She smiled at this and simply said "To say welcome home, Tiberion."

As Lucia left and Tiberion returned to his contemplations, neither noticed that the elf had stopped, her hands cramped from hours of playing.

* * *

Tiberion sat wearing his Magisters robes and black signet ring in a small office with one wall filled with books, many of them the great works of long dead Magisters, and an old battered desk covered with parchment set at its end. It was four days since the welcome home party his family had held and it proved to be all the time he needed. The main decision of taking up Lucia's offer actually proved to be an easy decision to take as he had few other choices and this did give him the chance to begin making a name, and life, for himself. The fact that he would be working with a beautiful woman who was clearly friendly with him and that he thought he could trust was an added bonus. He had actually spent much of the rest of the time making discrete enquires about Lucia and her life over the past ten years since he had last seen her. By all accounts she had proved to be a formidable woman, successfully commanding her forces against rebellions. Apparently she had been discharged out of military service eighteen months early and moved to the Magi Forum where she began as a researcher. That was 6 years ago and she had quickly advanced to her current position. Of course, details about why the early release, the work she had performed and currently performs were sketchy at best but it was clear that whatever it was she did, she was good at it. There had also been a few quiet remarks about a husband, but such information was proving surprisingly difficult to come across.

He had been sat in the hard wooden chair waiting for Lucia for half an hour and had become quite familiar with the contents of the room. His ire was rising, he wasn't used to being kept waiting by anyone and had to pointedly remind himself that he no longer commanded a thousand men but was effectively at the bottom of the social and hierarchical pile. Just as he felt the urge to get up and start pacing the door opened and Lucia walked in, wearing her Magisters robes and with her hair simply tied back making it quite clear that efficiency was paramount, she strode to her desk and sat down, indicating for Tiberion to do the same as he had stood up out of respect when she had entered.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, I had a private matter to attend to with one of my researchers. I'm glad you could come Tiberion, am I to take it that you have accepted my offer?"

Tiberion merely nodded his head in acquiescence.

Lucia smiled and then continued "That's good, now I can tell you exactly what we're doing here. This is one of a number of small research groups dedicated to learning more about the spirits of the fade, specifically those that take after more positive aspects of human nature."

"So not demons, then?" Tiberion interjected.

"No. We've learnt a lot from demons, however it's believed that the inherently different nature of the goodly spirits could offer us power of a very different kind. Unfortunately, because of the elusive, almost isolationist, nature of such demons it means that most think nothing will come of our research since it will be difficult to attract the spirits attention. This means we have severely limited resources to work with and so you will be working with just three others.

"Lyrium is in short supply so you will have to be careful of its use and we need detailed research notes. Obviously slaves are on hand if you need them to power your spells, but anything that could drain the life from a slave requires my consent, we don't have access to that many of them. Because most of our work takes place in the Fade you won't be working in a laboratory, you'll have to share the office with the other researchers. You're going to feel like you've been relegated to obscurity after commanding armies in the field, I know I did, but it's not all bad and it probably won't take you all that long to work your way out of here either. Now, I'll show you to the office so that you can start familiarising yourself with the research so far amassed. The others will help you and between the four of you, you'll be able to work a timetable for when you're first trip into the fade will be. OK?"

Tiberion answered in the affirmative. Lucia rose from her desk and led him down across the Forum to the office spaces across the way. In that office he spent much of the following weeks, meeting his fellow researchers and going through reams of notes written on parchment from all three of them, plus their predecessors, and fitting himself in to the work they were doing as a group.

* * *

The weeks passed by slowly with seemingly no progress being made. As promised, the work was monotonous and dull in the extreme with most of it revolving around matching observations to previous documents. The only relief to the boredom for Tiberion came in two forms and the first of these were the ever enthralling journeys into the fade itself. The others of his group regularly remarked that since he had joined them the actual ritual of sending someone into the fade, which required three of them to send the fourth, had become much easier since he joined them, more so than they would have thought one extra addition would make. In the Fade his mind could, to an extent, wonder free and he could marvel that the ephemeral beauty of the world created around him by the will of whatever spirit controlled that part of the Fade. He would meet with a resident on just about every journey he made there, talks with spirits tended to be of a philosophical nature but a little simplistic. Like demons, spirits could only gain some understanding of a certain aspect of human nature and it was difficult, if not downright impossible, for them to see beyond their own viewpoint. Such conversations were also frustrating in that the spirits proved reluctant to part with any information regarding the nature of themselves, the very point of their research. Contact with demons, at least those more powerful than any Hunger demon, where much more a battle of wills, with the demon invariably trying to find a way to take possession and enter the mortal realm. These proved challenging and, in their own way, fun if rather pointless in the end.

The second was the contact he had with Lucia. She was a charming, intelligent and assertive woman, as well as beautiful, which all served to make her his ideal of the perfect woman and he found himself looking forward to her daily visits to the office he shared with three younger Magisters more than anything. And the attraction was mutual judging by the shared smiles, the easy conversation and the light touches that were made to seem accidental that the two shared. However, he couldn't help but notice the reserved manner she held herself in, as if she was trying to deny her own feelings.

The mists coalesced around Tiberion into the shape of a great fortress, but twisted and with an unnerving feeling that the malformed stone walls were incorporeal. This was the Fade. Tiberion had been with the research group for two months now but this was only his fifth journey into the Fade. He was in a region controlled by a minor Peace spirit, who always appeared as a priestess of Urthemiel, and began walking towards what he assumed was the throne. Peace had proven more open in "her" (what gender does an incorporeal spirit really have?) communication with the group than most other benevolent spirits had so Tiberion had hopes that there was a possibility to start making some progress here.

He reached the twisted throne and looked around. The information Julianus, one of the other researchers in is group, had given him made it clear that she would appear if he came near the throne, yet there was no one here, spirit or otherwise. Tiberion stood in front of the throne and just stared and waited, hopping for his host to show up. After waiting some 10 minutes, though it was hard to tell since time flowed differently in the Fade to the physical world, he turned and began walking towards the structures large arched entrance. Something was clearly wrong even if he didn't know what and leaving the Fade to instantly report it to the others was out of the question as that would have meant wasting a dosage of lyrium without any kind of gain. That left one option, to leave the structure and explore the surrounding area to try and find some clue in this permanently shifting landscape that might explain what's happened and what options where open to him and his colleagues.

As his strides brought him close to the archway, he saw a bright point of light in the distance that appeared to be coming towards him. Since Tiberion was the only being in the area he concluded that whatever it was out there was coming to make contact with him, though what kind of contact remained to be seen, so he decided to hold his position where he was, just inside the archway. Within a few seconds the point of light had come to a halt within a few feet of the Magister and began to shift form until it resembled one of the great Magister Lords repleat in fine plate armour and carrying a staff of office.

"Hail, mortal, you are now in the region of Hope. Are you the one that has come here to converse with the spirit that was Peace?" Hope asked in a strange, resonant and layered voice that sounded like the voices of several people speaking at once.

Tiberion raised an eyebrow at that question as it begged many more. "I am Magister Tiberion Neros and I am the one who was to speak with Peace. I am to assume that she is no longer here?"

Hope answered in his unusual voice "Peace is no more, Peace has bonded with spirits of Justice, Valor and Resilience to become me, Hope. I have the knowledge that was once that of Peace and so I knew you, or one like you, would soon come to this place. And so here I am to meet with you and tell of events that could tear both our worlds apart, that has forced the hand of the four that we once were to become the one that I now am and to bid you to take action that could save us all."

As Hope spoke these words to Tiberion his first reaction to the words was "How dramatic of him" but then he stopped to consider what he had just been told. Never before had he heard of spirits bonding together to create a new spirit, and he suspected that no one else had either. This brought up a whole series of questions, the two foremost on his mind were how and why? However, it didn't take much for him to realise that he was now dealing with a vastly more powerful entity than he had at first come here to find and that, since demons are naturally drawn towards mages in the fade, it shouldn't be hard for spirits to find mages here either, so why wait for him?

Tiberion answered Hope with this question first "I'll hear your tale, but first tell me, why have you been waiting for me?"

"You and those in the group of four that you work with have all met with Peace before. Though you are Magisters, and we spirits know of the Blood Magic that you all use and have gained through the malevolent demons, Peace could sense that none amongst you possessed a soul of hatred or evil, that you wished to do your best only for your selves, your families and your nation even if your methods were misguided. Peace also sensed great potential within you to carry out the needs of the greater good. For those reasons, I have decided to meet with you here."

Tiberion nodded slowly to that, understanding more that the spirit had been making a character assessment of him and his co-researchers during the visits they had been taking here, showing a far higher level of understanding of people than had ever been associated with any spirit previously encountered, than the reasons that Hope actually gave, though he assumed it generally amounted to 'I like you'.

With Tiberions nod, Hope began its tale. "The greatest wish of any demon is to leave the fade and join the mortal world where it can affect the world around it permanently, where its action cannot be erased on a whim, either its own or an others. This holds true for the lowliest of Rage demons as it does for the mightiest demons of Pride. However, contrary to what you mortals believe, Pride demons are not the most powerful form of spirits that inhabit this level of existence. There in the Golden City that lies at the heart of the Fade is where the most powerful of our kind reside, aloof from the rest of us.

"But, something has happened to change that. A mighty demon has come forth and, like all demons, seeks to enter the physical realm. It is intelligent, it reveals itself to very few, even amongst spirit kind, and has made discovering its presence very difficult. It may not even have moved out from the Golden City, but it does act through other demons that it has subverted by force or by promise. That is why the four that were Peace, Resilience, Valor and Justice have joined together. Alone or as a group they collectively lacked the ability to understand the machinations of this demon that has come fourth and so bonded to form the entity that is me, Hope, with the intent of creating a spirit that is able to observe and understand more complex and different actions, emotions and states of mind. I have been able to discover a cable of demons working together that have contacted a group of mortal mages with the intent of using them".

"To what purpose?" asked Tiberion.

"As you know, spirits can only exist in your world in one of two ways, by possessing a body that has let it enter or by becoming a Shade. This demon wishes to enter the physical world as it now is and I believe that it has found a way to do so. It is leading these humans on to learn, and then perform, a spell of such power that it will tear the fade asunder but lead directly to the Golden City, allowing this powerful demon to pass through. However, the Golden City was never intended to ever be touched by the mortal realm and great damage to both our worlds may result from forces unleashed that none of us can control."

Tiberion looked away with a thoughtful, yet worried, expression on his face. If everything that he had just been told was true then all of Thedes and the Fade itself could be in grave danger. Unlike demons, spirits where known for their honesty so he had little reason to suspect Hope of lying to him. However, given the magnitude of the claims being made, it was a lot to just take on faith.

He needed information that could help him "What is it that you wish of me, and what can you tell me that will prove of use in the physical world where I will have to act?"

"I need help stopping those mortals that have been swayed into joining the demon, yet I canot reach them so I ask that you do so on my behalf. A mortal name has been made known to me through my own attempts at stopping this plot, a Lord Basilius."

Lord Basilius, a Magister Lord. This could prove problematic thought Tiberion. Though Lord Basilius was one of the more minor Magistor Lords, being on the Council of Magister Lords still made him one of the most powerful people in all the Imperium and deadly foe to set ones self against. Given the rumours that he had heard about Basilius character, it was unlikely that he would be the sole Lord involved in this plot. As Tiberion thought about the implications of agreeing to help Hope he realised that here was something that could offer him all that he wanted. A challenge that would push his abilities and allow him to make a name for himself, and all in the name of a course that would likely prevent the destruction of Tevinter, at the very least, if successful. He also realised that this was no game, if he proved to be inadequate for the task he would likely pay for it with his life, and he would not be the only one, meaning that this undertaking carried great responsibility beyond his own goals in life and likely he wouldn't be able to carry it off completely alone. But what is life worth without a few challenges?

"I accept this task, Hope."

* * *

His head spun in a cloud of fog, though he knew his boddy wasnt moving. Soon his sight returned to him but the room spun and his head throbbed with vertigo, almost causing him to stumble to the floor. Tiberions consciousness had returned to its body. His three research collegues grabbed him before he fell to his knees. Never before had he felt such a disorientating return from the Fade and his strength proved slow in returning.

"Are you all right, what happened? Did you meet with Peace?" Maleus asked him, a short young man with a round face, a high forehead and mouse brown hair.

Tiberion began to get his feet back under him but then remembered all that happened in his journey into the Fade. In a thick voice, still not fully recovered from the nauseating transition he asks "Where is Lucia, I have grave news for her?"


End file.
